by Cathy Ace
‘Mrs Eversholt and her son rescue Lily from Madame Chang, and take her away with them?’
‘Exactly!’ responded Paris with glee. ‘But there are some complications.’
‘But of course. What happens next?’
‘Lily moves to the Eversholts’ large mansion, where she looks after all her new mistress’s clothes, and even makes her entirely new gowns. Mrs Eversholt discovers Madame Chang has paid Lily almost nothing in the whole year she has been working there, and she takes up Lily’s cause, threatening to tell all her friends about how Madame Chang treats her workers if she doesn’t give Lily the money she is owed. It takes months before Madame Chang finally agrees to give Lily’s money to Mrs Eversholt; Lily thinks it is enough money for her to leave Shanghai, but Mrs Eversholt is really a selfish woman, and she convinces Lily to send the money to her family in the countryside in the care of a man employed by her husband. She does this because she wants Lily to stay with her to make a very grand gown for a special ball the Eversholts are due to attend. Lily agrees, because she is very grateful to Mrs Eversholt, and the man takes the money. When he returns, weeks later, he brings a letter from Lily’s mother; Lily’s father has died, and now her mother is very sick. The letter begs Lily to come home. Lily is very upset and tells Mrs Eversholt she intends to go back to her village; she would like to have her wages from Mrs Eversholt so she can leave. Mrs Eversholt agrees with Lily, and even offers her some extra money to be able to take a train a part of the way home, but the next day, something amazing happens that makes Lily decide to stay a while longer. Can you guess what it is?’
‘Charles Eversholt invites Lily to accompany him to the ball?’
Paris looked crestfallen. ‘I didn’t think you’d guess.’
I reassured him. ‘It’s my job to understand this sort of thing. If you’re asking a family group the same question, you’ll probably get lots of different answers to add to the fun.’
Paris brightened. ‘Yeah, I guess you’re right. So, sure enough, Charles, with whom Lily has secretly been in love since she first met him, asks her to accompany him to the ball. Of course she agrees, and she stays to finish Mrs Eversholt’s gown. She even makes one for herself from some leftover fabric in the house. All this time Mr Eversholt has been away on business, traveling around his oil wells in America, but he returns home just in time for the ball. That’s when he meets Lily for the first time. When he hears about his son’s plans to escort her in public, he becomes very angry. Eventually his wife calms him down, and Lily overhears the woman tell her husband that Charles’s invitation was a trick to get Lily to stay. Lily is heartbroken, because she thought Charles felt something for her, but, after many tears, she decides she will make herself as beautiful as possible for the ball and make him notice – and want – what he cannot have. Her. The night of the ball arrives and Mrs Eversholt is very pleased with her gown. As she parades in front of her husband and son, who both look very handsome in their fancy evening suits, Lily enters the room and takes everyone’s breath away; she is a vision of sweetness, innocence, and femininity. She is wearing an exquisite gown that mixes all the beauty and form-hugging allure of the traditional qipao dress, with the delicacy of lace and beadwork she has learned as a Western-style seamstress. Mrs Eversholt praises her work on both gowns, but secretly she is jealous of Lily’s youthful beauty. She is also displeased that her son seems to have really noticed Lily for the first time. Do you think you can guess what happens at the ball?’
‘Charles falls for Lily and the parents throw a fit?’ I suggested.
Paris smiled. ‘It is true that Charles and Lily are the talk of the ball, and they spend every moment together. Everyone wants to know who Lily is, so Charles makes up a story about her; they pretend she’s the daughter of one of his father’s managers. Mr Eversholt backs up this story, knowing this is just a one-evening liaison, and Mrs Eversholt is happy at first because people keep complimenting her on her dress; she tells everyone “a wonderful little girl who works just for me” made it for her. By the end of the evening she has a list of people who want to use her “wonderful little girl” to make dresses for them – so many, in fact, she could open her own dressmaking business. She becomes angry when Lily tells people her dress was made by the same “little girl” who made Mrs Eversholt’s. The evening wears on, and Charles Eversholt becomes more and more entranced by Lily; they have never spoken much before, so it is the first time for him to hear her whole life story. He doesn’t just fall for her, he wants to help her and her family back in their village. By the end of the night, Lily has forgotten how heartbroken she felt a few days earlier and is, once again, bewitched by the pale skin and almost-round eyes of the half-Chinese Charles. Charles too is under a spell; in Lily he sees hard-working innocence and a simple loving heart, not the idle scheming and primping of his mother, her friends, and their daughters. He tells Lily he wants to go back to her village with her when she leaves in a few days, and says he will help on the family farm. His father overhears this conversation and is very angry; he hasn’t paid for his son to have an expensive education with a view to one day taking over his business empire, to have him run off with a Chinese peasant to work on a farm. But he keeps his anger hidden and, when they all get back to the house after the ball, he says nothing to his son, but tells his wife of his plans. Can you guess what they were?’
‘To send the son away? To send the girl away? Depends which was more convenient, I suppose,’ I answered.
‘You’re good, professor,’ laughed Paris. ‘Of course, I hope there’ll be a whole bunch of ideas being thrown around every time I stop – and I know the older ones will tease the younger ones in the family, and vice versa – but you get the idea, right? So do you think I’m stopping at the right places?’
I gave him the reassurance he needed. He was an engaging storyteller – his voice was interesting to listen to, and he was using a pleasant, slightly archaic form of language that lent itself to the story and the time in which it was set. Bolstered, Paris continued.
‘The following evening, Lily asks Mrs Eversholt for the money she is due from her time with the household. Now Mrs Eversholt is in a quandary – should she give the money to Lily knowing that Charles is planning to run away with her, or should she hold onto the money so Lily cannot go? Mrs Eversholt is a clever, sly woman, so she decides on a compromise; she tells Lily she will have the money for her in two days, and Lily does not mind this delay because, although she wants to go back to her mother, her main concern is to be with Charles. That evening Lily and Charles sneak out to meet in a small public garden in the French Concession, where they are unlikely to be recognized. They are very much in love and they cannot stop kissing each other on the hands, on the lips . . .’
I had to break in, ‘Okay Paris, I get the idea – that’s enough of the romance. When do we get to the murder?’ I was mindful that, although I had no plans for the evening, I did actually want an evening.
Paris snapped back into student mode, apologized, then happily paraphrased for me, ‘I can make that bit go on as long as I like – the women’ll love it and the boys’ll all shout and jeer because it’s soppy. But nothing happens till the next day, so I’ll pick it up then.’
‘Okay,’ I accepted, thankfully.
‘The next morning, Lily is called to Mr Eversholt’s study. When she enters the study she sees Mr and Mrs Eversholt, but no Charles. They give Lily the money she has earned by working for Mrs Eversholt, and they tell her she can leave when she likes, as they had promised she could. Lily is distraught, but cannot show her feelings, so she asks if she can say goodbye to Charles before she leaves. Mr Eversholt tells her that Charles has already left for America, where he will work at Mr Eversholt’s oil wells and marry a beautiful, well-educated young oil heiress in Texas. The Eversholts are pleasant and helpful to Lily, and they pretend to be excited that they were able to get her money a day early for her. They also pretend to not notice her tears, and so
on the distraught and brokenhearted girl is leaving the mansion, with a train ticket, the money she has earned, plus a big bonus. She walks to the railway station, sad, and crying all the way, and there she waits for the train that will take her most of the way to her village. As she waits, she paces up and down, and then she sees something she cannot believe – she sees Charles! He is across the tracks from her. Lily runs up and down the platform waving her arms and shouting loudly. Eventually Charles sees her. Lily calls to him “I love you”, and Charles calls back that he loves her too. And with that he sets off to run across the railway tracks to reach Lily. Can you guess what happens next?’
‘Oh good grief, Paris, don’t tell me it gets really gory at this point. Does he get squished?’
‘Charles Eversholt does not get “squished”, but I am hoping for lots of unpleasant suggestions from the boys at this stage – and maybe lots of squealing from the girls. Do you like it?’
I nodded, it was a good way to keep the younger ones involved.
‘Charles reaches Lily, and tells her he’ll never let her go. His father has told him that Lily had run away, having stolen some silver from the house. Lily tells Charles how sad she was to hear that he will marry someone in America. They realize how Charles’s parents have lied to them both, and take the train to Lily’s home together, with high hopes of a future that will not be blighted by Charles’s father or mother. A few days later they reach Lily’s village, and discover Lily’s mother is very weak, but she gives her blessing for their marriage, which takes place the very next day. Because China is such a large place, it takes some weeks for word to reach the Eversholts about what their son has done, but when they find out they decide to confront him at Lily’s village. When they finally get there they stay at the local inn, and send word to their son – who is now living with his new wife on Lily’s family farm – that they wish to meet with him in their rooms. When Charles arrives at the inn, their argument is heard by everyone – the whole village knows in moments that Charles will never receive a penny of his inheritance if he stays with Lily, and that the Eversholts are horrified by his marriage to a peasant. Furthermore, Mr Eversholt is overheard threatening to have “the whore” thrashed to within an inch of her life, until she confesses her cunning, gold-digging plans. Charles argues loudly on behalf of Lily’s honor, but finally leaves his bitter parents at the inn, returning to the farm. There he tells Lily and her family of what has taken place.’ Paris paused and said, ‘Ready for the Big Moment?’
‘Yep – let’s do it!’ I chuckled.
‘The next morning, the Eversholts’ servants find them both dead in their beds. They have not been injured in any way, so the assumption is they have been poisoned. They have also been robbed of their jewelry and money, but the local police discount this as a ruse, and immediately rush to arrest Charles Eversholt because news of the argument the day before has reached them, via the servants. But when the police arrive at Lily’s family farm they discover the young married couple has fled. Lily’s mother is dying, in her bed; she tells the police the young couple decided to leave before Mr Eversholt had a chance to carry out his threat of having Lily beaten. Lily’s mother is clearly distressed by her daughter’s flight and is failing fast; she tells the police that, very late the night before, her daughter and her son-in-law ran into the house within minutes of each other, they forced her to accept most of their money, and then Lily had told her she would never see her again. Lily and Charles Eversholt have disappeared, and are never heard of again. The very next day, Lily’s mother dies.’
I found the set-up absolutely satisfying. ‘Nicely told,’ I said. ‘And?’
‘The question is, of course – who killed the Eversholts? Was it Charles, desperate to save Lily? Was it Lily, from a desire to rescue her husband from a tyrannical father? Was it Lily’s mother who wanted to save her darling daughter, and allow her happiness? Or was it the work of unknown bandits or thieves, or even the Eversholts’ own servants?’ Paris stopped, and smiled.
‘And that’s as far as you’ve got with your story?’ I was a bit exasperated to say the least.
‘Yes,’ said Paris defensively. ‘And that’s the problem. I want everyone to guess who did it, because that’s the fun of it. But I need to know for myself.’
‘You don’t know?’ I sounded as annoyed as I felt. He shook his head. ‘How on earth can you begin to write a murder mystery without knowing who did it, Paris? Doesn’t the entire tale hang upon the psychological profiles of the characters?’
‘I guess,’ he said, hesitantly.
I took a deep breath. ‘Let’s start at the other end, then. What was the poison? How was it administered? How easy would it have been to get it into the Eversholt’s food, or drink? Who would have known about the poison? How easy would it be to get hold of? There are so many questions, Paris. I think you need a bit more work at the end; the romance stuff is all pretty well worked up – but I think you need to give the crime details a bit more attention.’
Paris pulled a lined notepad and a pen out of his backpack. ‘That’s just the kinda thing I need to know – so what should I tell them?’ He waited with his pen poised.
I decided it was best to get it over with as quickly as possible, so I dumped the technique I usually employ when students ask me what they should do; instead of turning the question back to Paris and asking him what he thought, I just plain gave him my opinion.
‘You need to give more information about the poison; tell them what it was, how it’s come by, and how it could have been administered.’ Paris was scribbling away. ‘By the way, did you “research” that element?’ I still didn’t want to let on I knew he was lying.
‘The poison used was a wild plant’s root; the police knew that because of signs on the bodies. Everyone in my family will know it; it’s often used in Chinese medicine, in tiny quantities, but, like so many of the things traditionally used, it can become deadly when taken in large concentrations. It’s sweet when you eat it as a root, still not unpleasant when dried and powdered, but becomes bitter when mixed with water. Back in the day I guess they’d all have known about it.’
‘Not all, Paris,’ I pointed out. ‘In many cultures, and certainly in Chinese culture, medicine is something that’s dealt with by a small group of people who keep their secret knowledge just that – secret; those who possess such knowledge pass it on, but not to everyone – only to a select few. So the use of such a poison puts Lily’s mother squarely into the frame, and maybe Lily herself; Charles wouldn’t be likely to know about the poison, given his background.’
‘But Charles’s mother was Chinese,’ interrupted Paris, ‘she might have taught him stuff when he was little, and maybe he remembered what she’d told him when he needed to.’ He didn’t sound, or look, terribly sure of himself.
‘It seems unlikely, Paris, but, okay let’s assume knowledge of the poison itself doesn’t necessarily narrow our field of suspects. How does it act, by the way – is it fast, or slow? What sort of time frame are we looking at for the deaths?’
Paris perked up. ‘Now that’s a good one. I could mention that; it all depends how much a person eats – the more they eat, the quicker it acts, but since no one knew when the Eversholts died exactly, other than at some time during the night, it doesn’t help.’
I wasn’t deliriously happy about how things were going, but I guessed he had a reason for being so cagey. ‘Okay then, let’s move on. What about opportunity? Who could have got the poison into the Eversholts’ bodies, and how? You told me they weren’t injured in any way, so they must have ingested it somehow, I suppose.’
Paris put down his pen and focused on the ceiling as he spoke. ‘Right. The dinner and dessert were served by the Eversholts’ servants in their first-floor rooms at the inn. However, the kitchens on the ground floor at the inn could have been accessed by anyone, and everything was left there unattended at some time or another. Also, there was a sort of balcony that ran arou
nd the entire first floor, so anyone could have climbed the external stairs and gained access that way. The food, the drink, the desserts – they were all available for tampering with at any time.’
I was beginning to get the picture, and his detailed knowledge of the setting for the murders was starting to reveal his duplicity. ‘So you’re saying any one of our list of suspects could have put the poisonous root into the food or drink the Eversholts consumed that night?’
‘Yeah, that’s right.’ Paris was beginning to look quite excited.
I picked him up on it, deciding to be kind as I did so. ‘I think there’s some sort of plot afoot here, Paris. Are you trying to get me to solve a real case for you?’
He looked at his notepad, then studied his pen. ‘It’s just a story that I want to tell,’ was his final, pathetic attempt to hoodwink me.
I decided to play along a little longer. ‘Okay then, Paris – we’ve dealt with means, and opportunity, without eliminating anyone, and we’re clear on motives, right?’
‘I guess.’